Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
Black Hills National Forest packs a lot of scenery into a compact range: a 7,244 foot granite summit, a limestone canyon a thousand feet deep, mountain reservoirs, and pine country that runs farther than most people can cover in a summer. This is a look at the natural features worth planning around, all of it on forest ground, with how to reach each one.
Seen from out on the plains, the dense ponderosa pine forests look nearly black, which is where the Lakota name Paha Sapa, hills that are black, comes from. Up close the island in the plains turns out to be green, and it holds more variety than its size suggests.
The hills rose about 70 million years ago when a dome of rock pushed up through the plains. Erosion stripped the softer layers off the top and left an ancient core of granite and metamorphic rock, ringed by younger limestone and sandstone. That is why you can stand on bare granite in the central hills and walk a limestone canyon in the north on the same trip. Elevation runs from about 3,000 feet at the edges to 7,244 feet at Black Elk Peak, so the forest holds prairie grass, pine stands, aspen groves, and cold creeks within a short drive of each other.
Black Elk Peak stands at 7,244 feet, the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. On a clear day the summit view reaches into four states. The stone fire lookout tower on top was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From the tower deck the forest reads as a run of pine ridges with granite breaking through and reservoirs catching light in the distance.
Several trails reach the summit. The most popular route starts from Sylvan Lake in adjacent Custer State Park, a well marked loop of about 7 miles round trip through pine, meadow, and granite. A longer, more gradual climb comes up from the Willow Creek trailhead. Either way the last stretch is rocky and exposed, so wear real shoes and carry water.
The mountain was renamed in 2016 for Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota holy man who described a vision he had here as a boy. Start early to stay ahead of the afternoon thunderstorms that build in summer, and pack a layer: the top runs cooler and windier than the trailhead, even on a warm day.
In the northern hills, Spearfish Canyon cuts about a thousand feet down through limestone, dolomite, and sandstone, rock laid down when this country sat under a shallow sea. Spearfish Creek runs the canyon floor the whole way, holding brown and rainbow trout, and the walls hold marine fossils from that older world. Unlike the granite of the central hills, this is layered, sedimentary country.
The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway follows the creek for roughly 19 miles, with pullouts and short trails down to the water. Three waterfalls are the reason most people stop:
Drops about 60 feet down the canyon wall, in view from a roadside pullout, so it is the easiest of the three to reach.
A run of cascades reached by a gentle boardwalk trail along Little Spearfish Creek. The most accessible on foot and the most photographed.
A 47 foot drop through a narrow gorge, reached by a short trail from the canyon floor near Savoy.
Fall is the canyon at its best, when the birch, aspen, and oak turn gold and red against the pale limestone, usually peaking from late September into early October. Winter locks the falls into ice and draws climbers to the frozen walls, and golden eagles work the rim above the creek year round.
The heart of the forest is granite. About 1.8 billion years ago magma cooled slowly underground into hard rock, and when the hills rose, erosion wore the softer cover away and left the granite standing in domes, walls, and spires. Weather keeps shaping it: water works into the natural cracks, freezes, and pries the rock apart grain by grain.
Ponderosa pine covers most of it, growing in open, park like stands with grass underneath, and that is the cover that reads as black from the plains. White spruce, aspen, birch, and bur oak fill the cooler draws and north facing slopes. Iron Mountain Road winds through the granite country of the central hills if you would rather take it in from the car, and the Wrinkled Rock area gives climbers legal access to the forest’s granite.
One note for planning: the tall granite spires people picture as the Needles sit just outside the forest, in adjacent Custer State Park, not on forest ground. The forest has plenty of its own granite to climb and photograph, and the roads and trails move between the two freely.
The forest’s lakes are reservoirs, built on dammed creeks, set in pine country with clear water and quiet coves. Three carry most of the boating, fishing, and swimming:
The largest body of water in the Black Hills, about 800 acres and more than 150 feet deep, on dammed Rapid Creek. Deep, cold, and clear, with a swimming beach at Jenny Gulch and lake trout, rainbow trout, and northern pike.
A 385 acre reservoir just south of Pactola, warmer and more sheltered, with two campgrounds, boat ramps, a beach, and a trail that circles the shore.
A quiet 414 acre lake in the central hills with a 5 mph limit, good for canoes and kayaks and known for rainbow and brook trout.
Between the reservoirs, cold creeks lace the hills. Rapid Creek, Spearfish Creek, and Castle Creek cut through the pine and feed the fishing, and their banks are good places to find wildflowers and wildlife in the early morning.
The marquee stops draw the crowds, but the forest is full of smaller places that reward a little driving. A few worth the detour:
Come early or stay late. The Spearfish Canyon waterfalls look best under overcast skies or near sunrise and sunset, when the shadows go soft. Black Elk Peak is at its finest in first light, and the reservoirs give their cleanest reflections in the calm before the morning wind picks up. Weekday mornings are the quietest all around.
Every season shows the forest differently. Pick your window by what you most want to see.
Waterfalls run their fullest on snowmelt and the first wildflowers show. Weather swings between warm sun and late snow, and crowds are thin.
Warm days for hiking and the reservoirs, with meadow wildflowers peaking in June and early July. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, so hike the summits early.
The best color, gold and red among the pines, usually late September into early October, with stable weather and fewer people after Labor Day.
Snow on the pines and frozen falls. Many forest roads close, but the plowed byways stay open and the long distance views are at their clearest.
The full overview of Black Hills National Forest, from what it is to what to do.
Hiking, biking, and scenic drives, from the Centennial Trail to Iron Mountain Road.
Campgrounds, dispersed sites, and historic Forest Service cabins.
Elk in the meadows, trout in the creeks, and how the seasons change the odds.
The people and events that shaped the forest, from Paha Sapa to Case No. 1.
How the forest stays wild: partnerships, stewardship, and forest health.
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association is the nonprofit cooperating association at Black Hills National Forest. Memberships, the visitor center bookstores, and the online park store fund the interpretation, education, and stewardship that keep these places in good shape.
You can also donate or volunteer.
